Day 31 – 32 Cape Verde
I first arrived in Praia on April 28, 2015 at the end of a 36-day voyage on Ortelius from Ushuaia, Argentina to Cape Verde. I stayed for 18 days and visited six (Santiago, Fogo, Brava, Sao Vicente, Santo Antao and Sal) out of the ten islands. I had fond memories and was delighted to return.
May 3 Santiago Island
During my 3-day stay in Satiago Island in 2015, I visited Cidade Velha, a World Heritage Site. Founded in 1462, it was the first European town in the tropics where Vasco da Gama, Christopher Columbus and Francis Drake had all left their marks. Today, I joined a 3-hour guided tour to Cidada Velha where I revisited the imposing royal fortress, the atmospheric old quarter with white-washed stone houses, the cathedral (which is a ruin) and the iconic Nossa Senhora Rosario Church. I spent a while by the black sand beach watching fishermen coming in with their catch and a young boy mending the net.
After lunch, I tried to join the Santiago Island Drive. Unfortunately, the bus was full though some 15 last-minute guests were still in the queue. Jonathan, the expedition leader of APEX, realised our great disappointment jumped to our rescue: he asked the expedition team for an extra minibus and took us to look for the national bird of the island – Grey-headed Kingfisher and the other five endemic birds. We saw a dozen of the Grey-headed Kingfisher perching on power lines and trees. They remained motionless and were fantastic objects for photography. We were also lucky to spot an Eurasian Kestrel, several Cape Verde Swifts in addition to Quinea fowl, Glossy Ibis, Western Cattle Egret etc. I indeed had a 3-hour fun drive and enjoyed bird-watching with keen and knowledgeable birders.
May 4 Sao Antonio Island
The ship arrived at Porto Novo early in the morning. After breakfast, we took the zodiac and landed at the terminal which has since been expanded and modernized. I love this rugged island with awesome landscape including mountain ranges, a large crater that has been turned into agricultural fields, pine forests, terraced sugar cane farming, picturesque villages, and beautiful coastline. I hiked and spent three wonderful days exploring the island using local minibuses.
Owing to my hip problem, I am no longer able to do what I did ten years ago. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed a fantastic 5-hour drive on the island: I could still remember the spectacular winding cobbled roads, topography, vegetation and villages. Instead of returning to the boat for lunch, I spent an hour strolling in Porto Novo. Unfortunately, as it was Sunday, there was hardly any soul in town. It was also too hot. I therefore returned to the boat and even managed to have a quick lunch before the restaurant closed at 3pm.
Day 33-34 At Sea Lecture Day
May 5. I had four wonderful lectures. Manu talked about the geology of Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, both are land of fire formed by volcanic activities. Ingrid, a fantastic story-teller, introduced me to Mary Kingsley (1862-1900), a remarkable English lady explorer in Africa and writer. I also learned more about fish in West Africa and Darwin as an adventurous young man.
May 6. Today, I learned more about the rich wildlife of Macaronesia (the four island groups in the North Atlantic namely the Canary Islands, the Azores, Madeira and Cape Verde). I am lucky and have visited all of them. I love these enchanting islands and always long to return. Roddy continued with the story of Darwin to his last days. Jonathan talked about the birds of Macaronesia. I also heard about the intricate life of dolphins in the Atlantic.
Day 35 – 37 Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (or Canaries) are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean located in the northwest of Africa. I was in the Canaries (after Cape Verde) from 15 to 27 May visiting four out of the seven main islands (namely Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Gomera and Lanzarote). Each island is different with interesting hiking trails. After having spent 12 days in the islands, I had little expectation on my whirlwind visit this time.
May 7 Gran Canaria
We docked after 8 am at Las Palmas which was founded in 1478 and is now the capital of the Canaries. As I had explored the old town in Las Palmas, sand dunes near Maspalomas, Tejeda, and Teror in 2015, I took a 4-hour Bandama hike. The Bandama Natural Monument (the caldera of Bandama) is geologically a maar rather than a caldera, which reaches 569m above sea level at its highest point on its rim, about 1,000 wide and 200m deep. The crater was developed during the last heavy eruptions 2,000 years ago. The bottom of the caldera contains volcanic ash of different colours. We followed a good maintained but slippery trail to the bottom. Fortunately I had my walking poles and had only slipped once without hurting. Before returning to the boat, we were treated in a tapas lunch near the port.
May 8 La Gomera
Gomera, the second smallest island of the Canarias, is a top destination for nature lovers and hiker. In 2015, I spent three amazing days in this paradise: I had two hikes (a 13-km trail through the Garajoy National Park to El Convento and another 14-km trail from Chipude to Vallehermoso) and visited Valle Gran Rey. Today, I just joined a relaxing 4-hour “La Gomera Views and Walk in San Sebastian” tour. We followed the main road with stops at several magnificent view points over the Valley of La Gomera, the iconic Rock of Agando, soaring rock walls and a short drive through the Garajonay with a quick glimpse of the Laurisilva forest. We ended the scenic ride in San Sebastian with aleisure guided tour. This town has not changed much since my last visit: I remember the house where Columbus stayed before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to the New World, Asuncion Church, Torre del Conde and the iconic dragon tree. I did not feel energetic and returned to the boat for lunch instead of having a cup of cafe in the main square.
May 9 Lanzarote
I love Lanzarote with its uniquely white dwellings, hellish black lava fields in all strange shapes, grey-black as well as colourful volcanic soil, and manicured vineyard landscape. I spent three wonderful days in 2015 exploring its awesome volcanoes and craters, vineyards and La Graciosa. Here I was introduced to the most famous man of Lanzarote – Cesar Manrique (1919-1992) who upon his return to the native island in 1966 influenced art, architecture, culture and sustainable tourism development on the island.
Today, I joined a 5-hour trip to visit the National Park of Timanfaya and Salinas Del Janubio. Though I had taken the same guided tour to the national park, I enjoyed the visit just the same. Last time I passed by the Salinas without stopping. This time we had time to stroll around this impressive salt pan and learned about its history and sampled wine and cheese. We sat sailed for Morocco at 1:30pm. Once on boat, we had a lecture on wildlife in the Sahara Desert and the Sahel and an art class.
Day 38-39 Morocco
My first visit to Morocco was in the 1990s and have returned once to climb Mt Toubkal (4,167m). I like the country and am always happy to return. This time Silver Wind brought me to two new destinations.
May 10 Agadir. We docked before 7 am in Agadir, Morocco’s premier holiday resort that boosts 300 days of sun a year and a 10km long beach. Two earthquakes in 1960 virtually destroyed the city including its fabled 1540 Kasbah (Oufla Fort which was built in the mid-16th century by Saadian Sultan Mohammed ech Cheikh) killing 15,000 in 13 seconds and leaving 35,000 homeless. Today, Agadir is a busy port and tourist destination with modern architecture, wide, tree-lined avenues, open squares and pedestrian precincts.
I joined a “True Colour of Agadir City” tour. We were taken to visit a cooperation run by women that produces argan oil where we saw the laborious process in producing the highly priced oil. Then we were taken to another shop selling all sorts of oil and skin products from Morocco. Our final stop was the souq. I am not a shopper and find this tour the most boring one for the whole voyage. I should have joined the “Discovering the Paradise Valley” tour to see nature (I did not join as the hike up and down a gorge might be too stressful for my hip).
After lunch, I took a free shuttle to the city centre and was joined by a lady from America. As both of us had no interest in the beach, we went to a nearby casino which was empty. Then we walked to a small mall where only a few shops were open. Fortunately, my friend found and bought a few souvenirs for her three daughters. The ship set sailed for the last destination of this voyage at 6pm.
May 11 Safi. The ship docked at Safi around 6am. Then guests on a 12-hour “Magical Marrakech” tour immediately departed. As I have been to Marrakech twice, I joined a 9-hour tour to discover Essaouira, a World Heritage Site instead. Though this was the first visit to Morocco for Elaine, she preferred a shorter trip and chose Essaouira over Marrakech. The journey took three hours (over 170km) with a stop at an argan oil factory. It was raining hard when we arrived in Essaouira. Most of us had not brought an umbrella with us: we were caught in the rain feeling cold and wet.
Essaouira has long been considered one of the best anchorages of the Moroccan coast where the Carthaginian established a trading post back in the 5th century BCE. The present city was built in 1760 by Sultan Mohammed bin Abdallah and it became Morocco’s most important commercial port and diplomatic capital between the end of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century. Mohammed III encouraged Moroccan Jews to settle in Essaouira and handle the trade with Europe: Jews once comprised the majority of the population. The Jewish quarter therefore contains many old synagogues. However, following changes in trade, the founding of Israel in 1948, the independence of Morocco in 1956 and tension between Israel and Arab states, Sephardic Jews left the country. Today, only a few Jews remain in Essaouira.
We had a wonderful walk in the rain in the medina (a walled city) with a maze of narrow alleys. I love the picturesque gates, clock tower, architecture, colours and designs of doors and windows. We went to a workshop to learn wood engraving and designs. We visited the imposing fortress (kasbah) and fortifications by the port with awesome views of sand dunes and rocks. The last stop was the Bayt Dakira (Jewish Museum). We had almost an hour to stroll on our own and I ventured outside the port. I was overwhelmed by the port teeming with fishing boats and a bustling fish market. I would like to spend a day or two in this old town.
We had a nice lunch in a five-star hotel by the beach. Then we headed back to Safi. As the ship would not be leaving till 10 pm, I took a free shuttle and had a most enjoyable whirlwind tour of Safi which is the main fishing port for Morocco’s sardine industry. Pottery has also been a mainstay of Safi’s economy. I find the city wall imposing and the winding alleys and local shops much more interesting and authentic than the souq in Agadir.
Day 40 At Sea Lecture Day
The lecture programme went on even it was the last day of the voyage. I attended four lectures: “The Human Story”, “Marine Megafauna of West Africa”, “The Azores Current” and “The Demise of the Portuguese Empire”. All those attending the art class were invited to display three of their works. Though I have no talent in painting (or actually anything at all), I happily shared three paintings I like. At 5 pm, we had Captain’s farewell with a Crew Parade followed by the final recap of this wonderful journey. We packed our bags and got ready for disembarkation.
May 13 Lisbon, Portugal – END of SAILING
We bid farewell to friends with whom we had travelled for 40 days. We disembarked after 9:30am and took Uber to Casa de Sao Mamede Hotel on Rue da Escola Politecnica where we stayed for two nights.
Remarks (to add)